Boat cradle



Oct. 14, 1952 J. s. HOWARD, JR, ETAL 2,613,821

BOAT CRADLE Filed Sept. 24, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEE'I l JbhnSHowarzLe/n w William P. 0. Clea-lie 5M, v W

Patented Oct. 14, 1952 BOAT CRADLE John S. Howard, J r., Baltimore, and William P. 0. Clarke, Annapolis, Md.; said Clarke assignor to said John S. Howard, Jr.

Application September 24, 1948, Serial No. 50,906

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to boat cradles, and is useful when mounted on skids or on a marine railway, but is particularly advantageous when carried upon an automobile trailer.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 11 of Figure 6; and, v

Figure 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Figure 6.

The primary object of the invention is to pro- Referring to Figure l, we have illustrated the vide a cradle which willallow a boat .to be roboat at l0, which is mounted upon a cradle intated whereby the hull may be readily cleaned, dicated as a whole at H, which, in turn, is carscraped, repaired and painted. ried upon a conventional type of automobile Another object of the invention is to provide a trailer indicated as a whole at 12. Mounted upon structure which upon rotation of the cradle will 10 the axle of the trailer, as indicated at [3 in Figafiord ready and unrestricted access to the entire ure 2, is a rectangular frame 14 formed of angle 1 iron members suitably bolted or welded together,

An additional feature of the invention is to pro- Each of the end cross members M of this frame vide a cradle which will support the boat in a po.- has secured at its ends upstanding angle iron sition where it can be worked upon by a standin -15 supports l5, as best shown in Figure 2. The workman. w; upper end edges of the supports l5 are inclined A further object of this invention is to provide inwardly, as shown at l 6 in Figure 6, and the ina cradle construction which, in either of its rotermediate portions of the angle iron are recessed tated positions, will support the boat against as shown at I! in Figure 6, and particularly in movement while being worked upon. Figure 1. I Referring again to Figure 6, a suitable The importance of the aforesaid advantages roller 18 is mounted for free rotation in the sides will be appreciated whenit is realized that small IQ of each angle iron support I5 upon a shaft sailboat racers, for example, are very particular 20 for a purpose which will later be described. concerning the lightness of their boats, and the The cradle II is preferably-made of metal such condition of the boat bottom. Many keep their as strap iron but may be made of wood. This boats on trailers between races instead of in the cradle is arcuate or semi-circular as shown, and water in order that the hull will not become heavy intermediate its ends, has connected to it an fro Wa absorbed y h W006. The b a upstanding angle iron bar 22. This bar may be are transported on trailers behind an automobile connected t, its base to the arcuate cradle H from one location to another, and in. this coni any it bl nner, as by bolts, but is prefnection it is very awkward to careen or turn over erably d d, as Shown at 23 in Figure 3, the the boats on these trailers to cleanthe bottoms. her having b k t 24 hi h i elded to the When it is considered that sometimes the boats creme t t upper end t b 22 h ld d are turned over for cleaning as often as four times to it horizontal angle iron k t 25, as b t, a week, the value of the present invention will be shown in Figure 6, which extends on it Side appreciated since it is possible, with this invenf the said bah Mounted on the end Cress tion, to rotate a boat for treatment of its hull hers 4 intermediate their ends is a housing 25, and return it to normal carrying position on a best shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5 Referring t trailer, skid, or marine railway in about two min- Figure 4 it W111 be noted that the angle iron utes. member I4 is disposed within the housing 26, and

Referring to the drawings Wherem W have a roller 21 having trunnions 2a is mounted for shown the invention for purposes of illustration, f rotation in the Walls f the housing and the ou d p a trailer! adjacent wall of the angle iron cross member l4.,

Figure 1 is a Side elevatiqn; Referring to Figure 3, it will be noted that the Figure 215 an End elevatlon? cradle is supported upon the rollers l8 and 2'! Figure 3 is an end elevation Showing the cradle for rotation upon the frame [4. This is accom rotated to the right and indicating that it plished by means of the bolts 29, best shown in" Stricted access is made available for Operatmg Figure 2. When the bolts are in locking posip the hull; tion for carrying the boat on the trailer, as shown,

Figure 4 s a Section 011 the line of they hold the cradle against rotation. Howure 2; ever, when it is desired to rotate the cradle, these Figure 515 a Section 011 fi 1111B o Figure bolts are disconnected and the cradle rotated as Figure 6 is an enlarged broken-away side elevashown in Figure 3. tion of'the boat cradle mount structure for a boat It is preferable to unite the cradles l I by means I ,56 of longitudinally extending angle iron members ends of the independent bars 3| at each end of the frame. A pair of bars 3! is carried on the rotating cradle H at each end of the frame. At

their outer ends the bars are bolted to the angle irons 34, as shown at 35, the angle irons beingsuitably welded to the cradle I l. Positioned above the bars 3| are side supports 36 .detachably secured to the rotating cradle by means of screws,

3! having their heads flush with the outer surface of the cradle members II. It will be noted that the bars 3|, as well as the supports 36, are covered with cloth 38, or any suitable material which will not abrade the surface of the hull, and which will form a cushioned support for the same. The side supports 36 act as wedges and exert a light pressure upon the hull of the boat to hold the same in position. While we have shown the screws 31 as introduced from the outside,as shown in Figure 6, they maybe inserted from the inside with their ends terminatingshcrt of or flush with the outer surface of the cradle members I I. I a

Referring to Figure 3 and also'to'Figurefi, when it is desired to treat one side of the hull, for instance, the'left-hand' side in Figure 3, the bolts 29 are removed and the cradle H is rotated to the position shown. 'Thereupon the bolts '32 and 35 are 'loosened'with respect to slots 39 formed in the upper plate Ali of angle iron bracket amember 25 and in the upper plates 4'! of angle irons 734 by loosening the nuts 82, whereby the bar .31 is easily displaced. Also, the side support '35 may, if desired, be detached by removing the screws 31, whereupon complete access may behad "to the left side of the hull of the boat, as shown in Figure 3. It is to be understood, of course, that the support 36 and bar 3! on the left-'hand side of Figure 3 at each end-of the cradle areremoved for the treatment of that side of the boat. When one side has been'finished, the bar 3! and cushion 36 are replaced, andthen the cradle H is rotated in'the'opposite direction from that shown in Figure 3 so that full access may be had to the righthand or-opposite'side of the boat. The support 35 and bar 3! on such'opposite sideof the cradle are then similar removedfor this purpose. When the scraping, cleaning and painting of the hull has been completed, the cradle H is rotated to the position shown in Figure 2, and the bolts 29 are mounted so as to connect the cradles ll to the frame 14 and hold the cradles and the boat in a horizontal position against rotation. The actual operation of removing the bolts 29, and the boat-cradle mount structure, namely bars 31 and supports 36, to treat both sides of the hull and return the hull to the normal position'shown in Figure-2 occupies about two minutes.

The outer surfaces of the cradle members are unobstructed whereby the boat may be tilted to aposition for complete exposure of the hull and adjacent side, the amount of such tilting being limited by the stops 5! at either end of the cradle members engaging the upper ends-of the supports l5.

Each cradle member "has an opening 5! ar 4 ranged on opposite sides of the support 22, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. When tilted, one of such openings is registered with the bolt openings in the frame member I4 and a bolt 29 inserted to hold the cradle detachably fixed in its tilted position.

Referring to Figure 3 wherein .one side of the boat, namely the left side, has been raised, it will be noted that the weight of the boat will balance .it so that that the boat will remain in the position shown with its center of gravity just inside of the right-hand support l5 and its roller I8.

In other words, the boat will remain in the positionshown in Figure 3, resting upon the opposite "zbar "3| .an'd sidev support 3'8 at each end of the cradle. In its raised position, the left side of the boat may be .readilyworked upon by a standing Workman.

Referring to Figures 3-and 6, reinforcing rods or braces 43 are provided which are connected to the brackets .25 at their inner ends by :bolts "44 and .at their outer ends a're rigidly bolted to '--the angle irons 3'4, as shown at 45. This is to make a rigid support to. prevent spreading o'f 'thesides of the cradle.

The present invention has been demonstrated to solve many of the problems connected with the transportation, repair-and preservation of boat hulls in a. highly expeditious mannen. For-instanceythe trailer can be carried m enough into the water so that the boat will readily 'fioa't oif of the mount. Also, the side supports 36 guide the boat to proper position on the trailer when positioning 'the boat thereon While the latter is in the Water. The easy access to all parts of the bottom and hull of the boat, and the fact that there is unrestricted access, due to the rotatable cradle I I and-detachable boat-cradle mount structure"3'I36, makes the invention not only useful in association with trailers, but generally in boat yards, for instance, where it is now the practice to place smallboats on carpenters horses for ;re-

pair and-painting. It will be noted thatwhentlie bolts 29 are removed, the cradle is released for rotation and is held in proper position for rotae tion at all times by the guiding means provided by the recesses l7. Also, it will beobservedthat the rectangular frame M is readily carried by a trailer or other suitable conveying means and'may .be detached therefrom where necessary. In removing the members 31-36 .of the boat cradle mount, it is preferable to firstremove the side supports or cushion wedges 36 which are in superposed relation to the bars 3 l, but, of course, there are cases where it is desirable to only remove .one or'the other of such members, and, therefore, the order of their removal is not important.

We claim:

1. A boat cradle comprising a frame, an arouate cradle member mounted for rotation onsaid frame, a detachable boat cradle mount carried .by said cradle and extending chordally of the cradle, said mount including a plurality of side supports and bottom bars respectively, detachably mounted to said cradle whereby selected ones .of said side supports and bars may be removed for -.permitting unrestricted access to apre-selected portion of the hull of a boat carried in said mount.

2. A boat cradle comprising a frame, a pairof supports carried by the frame, said supports hav ing rollers, at. their upper ends, a roller .mounted on the frame intermediate said supports, an arouate cradle member mounted for rotation on said rollers, means for holding said cradle member against rotation and for releasing the same-fo rotation, and a detachable boat cradle mount carried by said cradle and extending chordally of the cradle, said mount including a plurality of side supports and bottom bars respectively, detachably mounted to said cradle whereby selected ones of said side supports and bars may be removed for permitting unrestricted access to a preselected portion of the hull of a boat carried in said mount.

3. A boat cradle according to claim 2 wherein said first mentioned supports at their upper ends ,whereby one of said bars and the adjacent side support may be removed for permitting unrestricted access to a side of the hull of a boat carried in said mount.

5. A boat cradle according to claim 4 wherein the inner ends of the bars of said mount are connectedto an upstanding bar which is connected to the cradle intermediate the ends thereof.

6. A boat cradle according to claim 4 wherein there is provided a pair of supports carried by the frame, said supports having rollers at their upper ends, a roller mounted on the frame intermediate said supports, the cradle member being mounted for rotation on said rollers, means for holding said cradle member against rotation and for releasing the same for rotation.

7. A boat cradle comprising a frame, an arcuate cradle member mounted for rotation on said frame, a detachable boat cradle mount carried by said cradle and extending chordally thereof, said mount including a plurality of side supports and bottom bars respectively, detachably mounted to said cradle whereby selected ones of said side supports and bars may be removed for permitting unrestricted access to a preselected portion of the I hull of a boat carried in said mount and a conveying means, said frame being mounted on said conveying means. JOHN S. HOWARD, Ja. WILLIAM P. O. CLARKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date 1,266,094 Beckman May 14, 1918 1,453,666 Franovich May 1, 1923 2,448,443 Krake Aug. 31, 1948 

